Embattled editor of Jesuit magazine quits

May 7, 2005|By Larry Stammer, Los Angeles Times

The Rev. Thomas Reese, a widely known Roman Catholic writer and pundit, has resigned as editor of the Jesuit magazine, America, under pressure from a Vatican congregation once headed by Pope Benedict XVI.

Reese's decisions to publish articles that at times challenged the church's official views brought Vatican criticism.

His resignation followed several years of exchanges among the magazine, Reese's superiors in the Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuits, and the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who last month was elected to lead the 1.1 billion-member Roman Catholic Church as Benedict XVI, headed the congregation during its battles with the magazine. The congregation under Ratzinger has repeatedly reined in and disciplined dissident Catholic theologians, priests and women in religious orders.

Reese, 60, has been widely quoted through the years by secular media seeking comment on church developments. He was in Rome last month before and during the papal election.

Two sources familiar with the magazine said Friday that the congregation sent a critical letter about Reese two weeks before the death of Pope John Paul II. These sources said the letter was addressed to the Rev. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, the Jesuit order's superior general in Rome. Kolvenbach relayed the contents of the letter to the president of the Jesuit conference in the United States, the Rev. Brad Schaeffer, who then informed Reese.

Word that Reese had been forced out was first published by the National Catholic Reporter on its Web site Friday afternoon.

Among the articles that upset the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith were an essay regarding homosexual priests, and another written by Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., challenging Ratzinger's view that the church should refuse Communion to Catholic politicians who failed to follow church teachings.